


In A Heartbeat

by 22ndaisy



Category: H&D (Korea Band), Produce 101 (TV), UNIQ (Band), X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, First Omega Heat, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Omega Verse, Scent Marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22048564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/22ndaisy/pseuds/22ndaisy
Summary: Lee Hangyul hadn't presented yet, but for reasons that they couldn't disclose to each other, he and his best friend Cho Seungyoun (an alpha), both secretly hoped that he would present as anything but an omega.What happens when Hangyuldoespresent to become an omega? In a frat party, of all places?
Relationships: Cho Seungyeon | Seungyoun/Lee Hangyul
Comments: 10
Kudos: 104
Collections: Midnight Stories 2019 Fanfic Collection





	In A Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of things/concept/rules vary from one Omegaverse to another, so I hope you would go easy on this one. :)

"Oh my god, hyung, what took you so long," Lee Hangyul whined the second his best friend Cho Seungyoun entered his dorm.

"The cash register was broken, and the line was long," the older explained, as he removed his shoes and walked to where Hangyul was seated in the small dining table with several books and notes laid out before him. He shrugged off his backpack, unzipped it, and took out a plastic bag which he promptly sent flying toward's the younger's direction.

But Hangyul's reflexes kicked in just in time to catch the flying thing with a smirk thrown Seungyoun's way, a split second before it landed dabsmack the middle of his forehead.

So the older dealt with his small defeat by sticking out his tongue at Hangyul.

"You better have bought me the right stuff, hyung," Hangyul said with a playful threat as he dug through the bag and saw, _yes_ , his favorite snacks. He then set it aside after a small triumphant dance (meaning, a tiny wiggle of his butt as he swayed his body from side to side in small motions).

"You're welcome, _pup_ ," Seungyoun teasingly but sarcastically announced when the younger didn't even bother to thank him.

Hangyul, on the other hand, made a kissy face which the older playfully responded to with a look of disgust and gagging noises.

"I swear to god, I can't wait for you to present as an alpha like me, so that you'll develop some shame at doing these cutesy antics," the older said, half-seriously but half-playfully as he pulled out the chair to Hangyul's right and sat himself.

Playing along, Hangyul leaned back on his chair with fingers interlaced behind his head so that his toned arms were on full display. "I know I'm well-built and am devastatingly handsome, but no one really knows if I'll actually present as an alpha or not. Many people seem to believe so and I mean my roguishly sharp features are kind of a, y'know, giveaway, but--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Seungyoun dismissed the rest of the younger's sentence. "You would _prefer not to be an alpha_ ," he reiterated the younger's past words with air quotes. "Though you still wouldn't tell me why, yet you call yourself my best friend. What a best friend, this best friend," the alpha scoffed dramatically.

"I told you already, hyung," Hangyul sighed, "It's just uncomplicated that way."

"Tell me that again when you're a better liar," Seungyoun said in dismissal, bending down to rifle through his things and fish out his phone, opening a mobile game app, and started tapping away.

"Whatever," Hangyul feigned cockiness, knowing that the older was still engaged in the conversation despite the loud sounds coming from his phone. "Besides, we don't want Alpha Seungyoun falling in love with me and ruining our friendship if I'd presented as an omega."

"Fall in love _with you_?" Seungyoun snorted and wrinkled his nose as if the idea was so disgusting. "As if that was even in my horizon of possibilities!"

Hangyul let his countenance falter for a second before schooling them back into a look that was appropriate for the situation he got himself in.

_Yeah, no._ Cho Seungyoun really wasn't attracted to him, Hangyul concluded, while he fought an expression of deflation show on his face because, truth was, he really like his best friend. Like, really _really_ liked him. (And it wasn't that he expected Seungyoun to harbor the same feelings for him; it's just that it can't _not_ hurt for the older to imply that the idea was so repulsive.)

Countless times, just like now, Hangyul really wished he didn't like the older in a way that wouldn't allow them to be best friends should the other learn about it. But he did. He liked him in a way that made Cho Seungyoun star in each one of his daydreams, liked him in a way that made Hangyul's palms sweat, liked him in a way that made him shy whenever Seungyoun stood a bit too close, or talked a bit too softly, or stared a bit too long. 

So if Hangyul had the choice to undo these feelings, he would. In a heartbeat. But only because he knew that Seungyoun didn't reciprocate that level and kind of affection towards him. Sure, Seungyoun would drop everything he's doing in a whim at the slightest hint that Hangyul needed him; was protective and picky of Hangyul's suitors & dates, and would even break a nose to protect or to defend Hangyul's honor should there be a need, but that was exactly it. That was where it ends. No matter how much these things made Hangyul hope that there could be something more intimate & romantic between them, Seungyoun has never once said or done something that a typical best friend wouldn't. 

And as much as the younger tried to compartmentalize his feelings towards Seungyoun back to the friendship box, he just couldn't. With every lame joke, every touch of those smaller hands, and every cheeky smile, Hangyul was left hoping for more.

And if he'll present as an alpha, with Seungyoun being an alpha himself as well, Hangyul wouldn't even be in his "horizon of possibilities." On the other hand, if he presented to be an omega, there was that danger of the lines between friendship and pheromones-driven attraction getting blurred. And Hangyul didn't want that either.

No, if Seungyoun was to like him, it'd be for him. He wanted Seungyoun to look at him, yes, but not through the lenses of their genetic makeup or their basest instincts. 

So every night, Hangyul would say a quick prayer and hoped that someone up there was listening, and that said someone would let him just be a beta. However, everytime he looked at the mirror, Hangyul had to admit that he did look like an alpha. He did act like an alpha sometimes, too, if he was being honest. He was atheltic & mildly buff—reflexes, instincts, and physique more similar with that of an alpha, than an omega. And maybe that was also why Seungyoun was convinced he was one.

But then again, Hangyul's two older brothers who were both alphas, had talked about how they have, at one point, thought that they'd picked up the scent of an omega from Hangyul before. Not that it happened again, but Hangyul hoped that he, Seungyoun, and his brothers were wrong.

His thoughts were dragged back to the present when Cho Seungyoun began making gagging noises at Hangyul's last statement.

"As if you can handle this, pup," Seungyoun smirked.

And Hangyul thought that he probably couldn't.

*

"I'll let you know if I'm feeling up to it, hyung," was Hangyul's answer some months later, to Seungyoun's invitation to his frat party.

Seungyoun sniffed and scratched his nose, curious. "Why? Do you have other plans?" he asked as he leaned against the lockers and closely examined the younger who was stuffing his books into his locker.

"I feel like I'm coming down with something, actually..." Hangyul sighed as he closed his locker and hitched the shoulder strap of his bag higher on his left shoulder. "Nothing serious though. I'll try to make it. I'll let you know."

"You sure?" Seungyoun frowned, more than mildly concerned. "It's not a big deal. It's just a party. You can just rest," he said, as he raised a hand to the younger's forehead to check for the other's temperature with face crumpled in worry.

And Hangyul just watched his best friend do so, and he just let him. He let the heat from the older's palm soothe him; let the alpha's nearness envelope him in some weird comforting way.

His eyes widened a fraction when he realized he'd just referred to Seungyoun as  _alpha _ inside his head because usually, it was somewhere along the lines of  _ best friend, hyung, crackhead, weirdo.  _ So he opened his mouth to say something about it when the scent of Seungyoun's perfume filled his nostrils.

It smelt woodsy but also fresh & masculine. And Hangyul knew that his best friend had a wide array of perfume brands that he chooses from depending on his mood, but this one smelt different (and was already Hangyul's favorite). It was enticing and it stung his insides the way the chill of the wind would hit your face during an early morning jog in the middle of autumn. It nipped slightly, but was otherwise a welcome contrast to the warmth in your cheeks. And it reminded Hangyul of how grass smelt after the rain, how the rainforest would probably burst in a mixture of fragrances after a downpour. It was strong & unfamiliar, yet comforting.

He was sure that it was a perfume Seungyoun had never worn before but Hangyul had already decided he liked the smell of it.

So while Seungyoun's eyebrows were still knitted in worry, Hangyul raised his right hand to wrap his fingers around his best friend's wrist and bring it close to his nose. "I like this perfume on you, hyung," Hangyul commented before he was struck by the realization of what he was doing.

He quickly let go of the older's wrist and cleared his throat defensively, hoping the ball of saliva would dissipate along with the awkwardness in the air between them. 

Hangyul also thought he saw a look of alarm etched on the older's face for a second, but it has now completely disappeared under a blank expression as Seungyoun said, "Please, just rest tonight. It's just a party..."

The younger didn't make any promises. 

And this was why Seungyoun had a grim expression on his face when he came to pick Hangyul up from his dorm later that night. Because of course, Hangyul, wanting to spend the Friday night with his favorite person (read: his best friend) had sent a text message to Seungyoun about an hour earlier. _"I'm okay now, hyung, can you pick me up? I can be ready in an hour..."_

Seungyoun's reply read, _"I'm retracting my invitation. No pups allowed. Don't force yourself."_

Hangyul harrumphed at the message. There were indeed frat parties that didn't welcome wolves who haven't presented yet—for what reason, he didn't know—but clearly, Seungyoun was just making up excuses so that Hangyul would listen to him. 

So Hangyul replied with a hardheaded _"Fine then, I'll see you there. I'll just look for you,"_ which successfully made the older succumb, albeit half-heartedly.

"You're so stubborn, I swear to god," Seungyoun muttered from the driver's seat while Hangyul buckled his seatbelt.

To be honest, Hangyul himself didn't know why he was so insistent on going. Of course, he would welcome and take every opportunity to be with Seungyoun but it also felt like tonight was one of those nights when he didn't want to be alone. So he didn't respond to the older's accusation. It was true anyways.

He glanced at his best friend's dashing side profile and heaved out a deep sigh, accidentally inhaling a waft of Seungyoun's perfume again— _that_ perfume—and he actually felt a blush creeping up his cheeks when he realized that the scent actually made him feel... things. 

"What?" Seungyoun asked, sparing him a side glance, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Nothing, I--"

Whatever lie Hangyul was about to say was cut off by his phone ringing, so he fished out his phone from pocket and saw that it was the alpha president of the student council, Han Seungwoo, calling.

Seungyoun didn't miss the guilty & suspicious look in Hangyul's eyes before the call was answered with a wary, "Oh, Seungwoo sunbae-nim?"

_Huh?_ Seungyoun was confused.  _ Why would the Han Seungwoo have Hangyul's number? _

Seungwoo seemed to be talking on the other end of the line.

"Ah, yes. I mean,  _ Seungwoo hyung _ ?" Hangyul continued with a nervous chuckle, which made Seungyoun grip the steering wheel a little bit tighter because one, he didn't know that Hangyul was in such comfortable terms with the other alpha and two, he still wasn't entirely pleased that the younger insisted on coming along tonight.

"No, I'm on my way to the frat party with Seungyoun hyung, actually..."

"Oh, you, too? Ahhh..."

"But I don't have an answer yet..."  _Answer to what?_ Seungyoun wondered.

"O-okay, see you then, Seungwoo hyung."

Seungyoun resolved to not speak before the younger did, so he fixed his eyes on the road before them and kept silent. He wasn't in the best mood to pry about Hangyul's seemingly close bond with one of the university's much-desired alphas which, by the way, he didn't know about. Yet they're supposed to be "best friends". Seungyoun fought the urge to scoff.

But it was Hangyul's nervous and obviously fake chuckle that broke the silent atmosphere. "I forgot to tell you about Seungwoo hyung..."

The careful way that Hangyul spoke did nothing to appease Seungyoun's wolf that seemed to have begun bristling, now curious and slightly edgy. So, not trusting himself to have the kindest response, Seungyoun settled with another "What?"

Hangyul cleared his throat and couldn't seem to keep still, and it only worsened the nerves that Seungyoun was trying his damnedest to ignore. Something about the way that Hangyul seemed to take his time choosing his words really bothered him and his wolf.

"Seungwoo hyung confessed to me last week," Hangyul declared in one quick breath as if it was a chore to share the fact with his best friends.  He got no word or any visible reaction from Seungyoun but suddenly, the car increased in speed and the next thing he knew, they had pulled over.

"Seriously?! And you're just telling me now?! Am I being un-best friend-ed?"

The younger felt guilt unfurl gently & slowly like a vine wrapping its tendrils around his stomach.

He knew that Seungyoun, as his best friend, would have appreciated the life update as soon as it happened but he just didn't know how to go about telling the person he held a torch for, that someone had confessed to him. And it just wasn't anyone; it was the Han Seungwoo—alpha heartthrob & student council president. He didn't want to be fishing for some reaction that he probably wouldn't get anyway.

Hangyul unconsciously scratched his nose as he noticed that Seungyoun had leaned closer to him, and the perfume from earlier seemed to be stronger. From this distance though, Hangyul decided that the perfume didn't smell as pleasant, but now is not the time to focus on that now.

"You're such a drama queen..." Hangyul offered, "I haven't even given Seungwoo hyung an answer."

"So, wait. You're seriously considering accepting his confession then?" Seungyoun gaped at his best friend for about two heartbeats before he shifted gears to get the car back on the road and moving towards their destination again.

"I just told him I wanted to present first, then I'll give him an answer to his confession," Hangyul paused, "Should I? I really don't know yet. He isn't one of the uni's most desired alphas for no reason. But yeah... I'm already twenty, so I should be presenting within this year, right?"

"Mhmm."

It was pretty much quiet and not awkward at all between them two for the rest of the ride, but Hangyul didn't fail to notice how Seungyoun's movements suddenly became quick and terse when they got to the frat house—the way he unbuckled his seatbelt, turned off the engine, and alighted the car without any word to Hangyul, let the younger know that there was something bothering his best friend. It was all so uncharacteristic of his best friend to be acting this way.

Seungyoun also didn't stick to his side as per the usual, so about three hours in, with the party in full swing and when Hangyul felt something wet between his ass, a slight panic rose in his throat. 

He knew of the stories; knew exactly what was happening to him. It was what he feared the most. And it explained why he hadn't been feeling well.

He was presenting. _As an omega._ In the middle of a frat party. 

And he knew what he should do: Run. To a place that wasn't teeming with alphas, unlike where he was now. But Seungyoun was his ride and he couldn't seem to locate him.

Heat seeped from beneath his skin to form goosebumps on his arms and Hangyul's senses began to heighten as he was awakened to his being an omega. And much to his chagrin, so were the senses of the unmated alphas around him who were now well-aware of the omega scent & pheromones that Hangyul was emitting. 

"Seungyoun hyung!" Hangyul hollered, getting himself to moving, shouldering his way through the crowd with quick, hurried steps, neck craned to see atop the heads of the partygoers, in search for his best friend. " _Shit_ ," he muttered under his breath as he tried to breathe through his mouth. 

The mix of alpha scents around him was beginning to be too much. And he couldn't find Seungyoun.

He called out his best friend's name over and over again, as he neared the kitchen where he hoped the older was, fetching them both drinks. He was wrong.  He'd started growing more uncomfortable with his own slick moistening his ass by the second, so he stopped in the entrance to the kitchen with a weak arm braced against the doorjamb to get himself together, while his heartbeats quickened and shortened.  


Fear had begun to set in some moments ago, but now he struggled to even muster the strength needed to focus on finding Seungyoun. His newly-awakened omega had also begun pleading for him to leave the place before he got himself in trouble with countless unmated alphas around.

Hangyul also knew he didn't have the luxury of time; he knew that most omegas went straight to their first heat when they present and with the way that he was feeling, it would be wise to not think that he was an exception. Never mind that his best friend was also an unmated alpha who might not fare well with a presenting omega in pre-heat; he trusted Cho Seungyoun like that. He just needed to find him. _Please._

He tried to shake some self-control and physical strength onto himself to find Seungyoun before his senses went berserk and before he turned into a slave of his own nature. He just knew he couldn't very well trust himself to either stay here alone or send himself home.

_Suppressants_.  The idea pierced through Hangyul's muddy thoughts like an oasis in the middle of the scorching desert heat as he dragged his heavy feet towards the kitchen cupboards. Maybe the host had omega suppressants stashed somewhere in here. Most households did.

"Excuse me..." he muttered weakly as he approached where he hoped his salvation for the night could be found, ignoring both the weird looks of the those whose wolves had already detected an omega in pre-heat. And as if that wasn't enough, the nauseating mix of alpha smells was making him dizzier now, too.

He really will be needing a lot of time to get used to all these new senses & sensations, he grimly reckoned when suddenly, a strong grip arrested his forearm, halting his movement.

Hangyul's wolf mysteriously and almost immediately perked up, already aware of the nearness of the only alpha he knew he could trust at the moment, even before Hangyul himself was able to turn around and see that it was his best friend Seungyoun.

The omega slowly turned around and sent a look of helplessness to Seungyoun, simultaneous with the realization that the perfume he picked up on was actually Seungyoun's alpha scent.

Seungyoun smelled so good and so damn enticing that Hangyul couldn't even stop himself from inhaling a lungful of his best friend's alpha scent as he let his eyes automatically flutter close.

A frantic "Hangyul..." was the only thing that escaped Seungyoun's lips as realization dawned on him, too: His best friend was presenting. As an omega.

_Omega_...  Seungyoun's wolf hummed.

And so began the battle between being a best friend to Hangyul or simply letting his wolf take over and be an alpha. 

Seungyoun physically shook himself out of his own trance. He was stronger than this.

He let his eyes dart around the room to trace a path of escape but was instead slapped with a handful of other alphas eyeing them—eyeing his best friend like some sort of snack. So Seungyoun hissed under his breath and turned back around to face his best friend whose eyes were still closed in some state of euphoria.

"Your best friend is presenting, Cho," a voice Seungyoun didn't care to identify, pointed out from behind him, making it imperative for Seungyoun to take a step closer to the still-dazed Hangyul so that his shoulders blocked everyone's view of his best friend whose cheeks were now flushed.

"And going into his first heat..." someone added, as if Seungyoun couldn't see that himself.

Seungyoun huffed gruffly. It was not as if he was numb to Hangyul's omega scent which resembled firewood with strong undertones of pastries fresh off the oven; as if it didn't have his insides in uncomfortable knots. He definitely did not need the reminder.

His omega best friend smelt like honey, extracted good, slow, and sweet... and burning. S'mores. So damn sweet like marshmallow but also a distinct fragrance that would remind you of campfires, helping yourself to a cup of coffee in front of an indoor fireplace. A hearth lit & warm in a winter morning. The quiet, warmth, familiarity, and comfort of it. Soft. The dawn of Christmas Eve. Bonfires.

"The omega is in pre-heat, Cho--" a voice interrupted.

"I know that! Shut the fuck up!" Seungyoun bellowed at the senior whom he recognized as the point guard for their uni's basketball team. His wolf's hackles had begun standing on its ends at the irritation, but he turned back to Hangyul with more gentleness.

At that moment, he had no other place to put all his trust onto, but the still rational fraction of his brain—his human—all while Hangyul still seemed to be in a delirium; his soft, enticing scent still permeating the atmosphere of the room.

Seungyoun bracketed Hangyul's upper arms with strong hands as he fought his wolf's strong urge to bury his nose onto Hangyul's neck.  _Fuck_.

His wolf whined at Seungyoun restraining himself, now clamoring for a taste of the omega as well. But he was Cho Seungyoun, best friend of Lee Hangyul, not some random alpha who will take, take, take; nothing but a slave to his own biological design.

"Better take him home..." another voice suggested and Seungyoun was this close to turning around to send his fists flying because it sounded like there was an implicit continuation to that. And he wasn't wrong. "Unless you're welcome with the idea of another alpha getting in your best friend's pants..."

_No fucking way._

Then like the sound of shattering glass breaking the silence, Hangyul whispered, snatching Seungyoun's attention from everyone & everything else.

No, it wasn't a whisper; it sounded more like a whimper. "I don't know what to do, hyung... I feel so hot... I want to-- You smell so good, too..."

Neither did Seungyoun. He knew he couldn't trust himself to take Hangyul home in the state they were both in. He was already sensitive enough from Hangyul's omega pheromones and it was obviously about to get worse since the omega was obviously going into heat. But neither can they just stay here.

"S-Suppressants..." Hangyul stuttered, clutching on the fabric of Seungyoun's shirt and pulling their bodies closer. "The cupboards, please, hyung..."

And that felt like a bucket of ice cold water being poured onto Seungyoun as his brain kicked him into action, reaching over Hangyul's head to check the cupboards, not letting Hangyul escape his arm's reach while he made sure that he'd checked all the cupboards, only to realize that there were indeed suppressants. _Expired ones._

"Cho Seungyoun..." a more familiar voice cut through the noise that Seungyoun's wolf thought he has totally drowned out as it began chanting Hangyul's name in a way that scared the older himself—protective and possessive... _and dark_. "Is Hangyul presenting?" the voice—Han Seungwoo's voice—asked again and Seungyoun panicked, while his earlier conversation with Hangyul in the car replayed inside his head: _"I_ _just told him I wanted to present first, then I'll give him an answer to his confession... Should I? I really don't know yet. He isn't one of the uni's most desired alphas for no reason..."_

So in a state of panic, anger, jealousy, and a myriad of other emotions he couldn't quite label yet, Seungyoun momentarily handed over control of himself to his wolf and surrendered.

At that moment, he decided he was going to scent mark his best friend.

Unaware that his eyes had gone yellow in his anxiety, he wound his arms around his best friend, pulled him in, ducked his head, and ran his nose along the column of Hangyul's neck, making his wolf come alive with a purr of sheer bliss. He rubbed his nose, and his cheek to every part of Hangyul's skin that was exposed to him, transferring his scent to the omega.

Meanwhile, Hangyul, although shaking like a leaf inside the alpha's embrace, had his head tilted to the side, welcoming the contact and exposing himself to the older.

It was, more than anything, a result of Seungyoun yielding to his wolf but he would be lying if he said it wasn't a show of possessiveness, too; a way to stake his claim ~~and mark what's~~ ~~ his ~~ , for Han Seungwoo and the couple of other alphas to see.

And naturally, the other alphas did not appreciate it when, their own wolves desired the omega in Hangyul also, but  _"Fuck it. Fuck you all,"_ Seungyoun thought, as he dragged Hangyul by the wrist and past the throngs of people to find an empty room once he was sure that his scent was stamped on his best friend in a way that would tell off & turn off any other alpha.

But Seungyoun wasn't prepared for how Hangyul behaved once they were alone, locked in an empty bedroom. As any omega in heat would do, Hangyul had pressed himself to Seungyoun as soon as they were alone and it almost brought the older to his knees; being away from the scent of any other wolf and being assaulted by only Hangyul's heat-charged scent and pheromones.

Hangyul, now abandoning his reasoning in favor of easing his heat, buried his face in Seungyoun's chest, inhaling audibly and rubbing his face against it like a kitten.

"Yah, Lee Hangyul! Are you scent marking me???" Seungyoun (the hypocrite that he was) asked incredulously, when he realized what his best friend was doing. Then he gathered the wit and strength to hold the now sweaty Hangyul at arm's length.

He knew that scent marking didn't always hold a romantic or possessive tone to it. Even families and friends could do it with and for each other. It was, in general, an act that communicated belongingness, but it still required a lot of intimacy and trust.

He used to do it to Hangyul all of the time without the younger knowing it (because he hasn't presented yet, and therefore, not yet sensitive to scents). But he knew that scent marking an omega in heat (or being scent marked by an omega in heat) bordered on...  _something else_.

Seungyoun noticed that even the scent he consciously emitted when he scent marked Hangyul earlier was different—thicker & stronger—compared to all the other times he'd done it previously without the younger knowing.

But here was Hangyul now, probably even unaware of what he was doing, scent marking an alpha in the quietness and darkness of the room—in his heat. What he should do about it and how he should interpret it, Seungyoun had no idea. So he prised Hangyul's grabby hands from his shirt and took the younger's face in his hands. "Lee Hangyul, just what do you think you are doing?"

And Hangyul, with eyes wild & unfocused, seemingly deaf to Seungyoun's question, just turned his head so that he was rubbing his cheek against Seungyoun's palm. A drunken smile on his blushing, sweating face.

"Stop..." Seungyoun grumbled half-heartedly, summoning his wolf to use his alpha voice to talk to Hangyul. "Listen," he said tightening his hold on Hangyul's warm cheeks, "This is what will happen: I will be in that corner of the room and you will stay on the bed, and you won't come near me. You hear me?"

Hangyul's eyes flew open at this and wrapped his fingers around Seungyoun's wrists as if afraid he will let go of him, "No--"

Seungyoun huffed in annoyance, his own wolf bristling in irritation that his alpha instincts to claim & dominate the omega were being tamped down by the person's self-control. "Lee Hangyul!" he attempted to berate the omega into submission once more and this time.

Hangyul visibly flinched both from the loudness of Seungyoun's voice, and also as his omega's reaction to the innate authority that his best friend's own alpha wolf held.

It never did an omega any good to try to defy an alpha, and Hangyul was experiencing the consequences of it now for the first time—his hackles risen, his scent & pheromones emitting a less pleasant smell, his wolf borderline cowering in fear. "Seungyoun hyung, please, I--"

And Seungyoun realized there was no use trying to talk to Hangyul like a human when his first omega heat has clearly got his mind clouded, muddy, and deaf to reasoning. So he wrapped his hands around Hangyul's forearms and physically shook his best friend so that his attention was on him. Never mind that his own alpha wolf was practically shaken, howling and huffing, Seungyoun dragged Hangyul to the bed, dodging the younger's frantic hands.

The omega mistook this movement as an invitation to do what their wolves wanted to. "Hnnnn... Hyung..." Hangyul hummed in delight, taking a step to once again plaster himself against Seungyoun's chest, while wrestling to free himself of the alpha's hold and Seungyoun has had it.

_"Omega! Stop!"_ the alpha's wolf roared.

And that did it. Hangyul whimpered and submitted, cringing away and falling weakly on his butt on the bed with a small cry before he proceeded to curl himself in an anxious ball of lust, weakly trying to distance himself from the angry alpha.

Seungyoun took this as his chance to walk to the other end of the room, press his back against the wall and slide down so that he was seated on the floor. Although he knew he couldn't get the omega through his heat, he also resolved he that he wouldn't — _couldn't_ —leave his best friend alone.

He ran his fingers through his hair and pulled in frustration as he watched Hangyul shed his clothes with aimless fingers, alternating between running his hands all over himself, writhing, tossing, turning, whining helplessly, and calling out his name like it was some enchantment that would help him ease the heat the way only an alpha's lovemaking could.

But Seungyoun couldn't move and let his wolf take what any unmated alpha like himself would want to take. He _couldn't_. No, he actually _could_ , but he _shouldn't_. Not when the omega was his best friend.

Watching Hangyul in pain was as torturous to him as it was probably for the omega, Seungyoun admitted to himself, even as he let his head fall back to thump against the wall so that he can will Hangyul's sweet, sweet omega scent calm his wolf down, instead of rile him up in lust. Yes, the sounds Hangyul was making, were causing Seungyoun's wolf to be all hot & bothered but he couldn't really do nothing but to emit pheromones that he wished would provide, at least, some comfort and ease to the omega from across the room; so that Hangyul was more calm and less desperate for an alpha's touch.

_It must burn,_ Seungyoun thought, heart hurting on behalf of his best friend as he watched Hangyul keep on arching his back with the sheets twisted around his fists as the younger sought any position or contact that would lessen his despair.

Seungyoun may not know exactly how it felt but he knew that omega heats were somehow similar to alpha ruts. During omega heats, omegas would crave an alpha's touch, strength, scent, and warmth, so badly that it physically hurt. And ruts were not too different from then. Alphas libidos would peak during their ruts and no matter how much they pleasure themselves, it was only an omega's body that could provide immediate ease from the pain & torture of being in a rut. Both heats & ruts were basically times when humans become slaves to their wolves. And it gutted Seungyoun to think that he couldn't do anything for his best friend now.

He was feeling helpless for the most part when out of nowhere, he came to wonder what would have happened if Hangyul and himself hadn't found each other downstairs.

At that, Seungyoun's wolf whined in frustration; just considering how some other random alpha could have gotten to Hangyul first (and got him through his first heat). It infuriated and scared both Seungyoun's person and wolf so much that he didn't even realize that amidst all these intense feelings of jealousy & helplessness swimming around his heart & mind, a lone tear had escaped the corner of his eye.

You see, this was his biggest fear realized.

When Seungyoun realized he liked his best friend more than he cared to admit, he only hoped that Hangyul was not an omega, because the guy was seriously already a twenty four seven threat to Seungyoun's sanity & self-control as it was, so he really didn't need omega scent & pheromones to make things worse.

_Too late for that._

Life really was a bitch sometimes, Seungyoun acknowledged again, though he already knew that.

Why did he have to fall for his best friend? 

Seungyoun knew there was no reversing his attraction towards his best friend, although he still tried. But Hangyul just wouldn't let him do it. Not consciously though. It was impossible, whenever Hangyul smiled that toothy grin, laughed at each one of Seungyoun's jokes, looked after him as if he was older than Seungyoun sometimes, talked in that low, gravelly voice of his (which turned even raspier when he was asleep or had just woken up), and slung his muscled arms over Seungyoun's shoulders, leaking of warmth, strength and an illusion of safety & home. But it wasn't like the younger was aware of it.

Lee Hangyul was as naive and trusting as they come. He was child-like-belief-in-the-existence-of-the-tooth-fairy-and-unicorns personified, trapped in the body of a man that threatens to bring Seungyoun to his knees. Especially when he would wear muscle shirts or worse, pull his shirt over his head sometimes and strut topless inside his dorm when Seungyoun comes over.

And now he was an omega.  _Goddammit_ . And not just that, Seungyoun's best friend was also the same omega that Han Seungwoo confessed to. 

Tear after treacherous tear fell from the alpha's eyes until he was only vaguely aware of the omega in heat that was still in the same room as him, as evidenced by how he hadn't noticed that Hangyul had already crawled towards him until they were now at eye-level, with the omega naked from the waist up, kneeling in front of him with a worried look.

"What the fuck--" Seungyoun made to scamper away, before he realized he was literally cornered.

"Alpha is crying..." were Hangyul's only words, face painted in distraught, before he took the liberty to climb onto the alpha's lap and wrap his arms around a dumbfounded Seungyoun's neck to provide comfort, with no permission whatsoever.

The alpha choked on incoherent words, trying to make sense of the situation but was attacked by the warmth that the omega now was enveloping his body with, and the scent that was so distinctly soft, sweet, familiar & comforting. _Honey & fire. Warmth. Home._

He thought he heard Hangyul mutter, "Alpha needs omega now..." as he let the younger bury his face in his neck and although Seungyoun's body stirred to life & arousal at the omega's lust-charged scent & pheromones, he accepted the situation for what it was, deciding to just question everything later.

Seungyoun finally hung his head and let his tear-stricken face fall onto the younger's shoulder. He let the omega's scent fill his nostrils and blanket him from the inside out, allowing its calming effect to clear his mind so that he could tamp down on his lust and instead, just be grateful that his best friend was here. He let himself wrap one around Hangyul's shoulder, and the other around the omega's waist, before drawing his best friend's body flush against his.

"Thank you, Gyul..." was all that he could muster to push past his lips, words muffled by the younger's skin that he didn't mind was covered with a thin sheen of sweat.

This caused the omega to let out a sound of delighted surprise. "Need each other..." Hangyul whispered, tightening his arms around the older, making the mistake of grinding his clothed, slicked, wet, ass down on Seungyoun's semi. A stark reminder that Hangyul was still in heat.

Seungyoun gulped and he didn't know if it was because they were best friends or if it was because their wolves have already surprisingly acquainted themselves with each other, but Hangyul seemed to be aware of the shift in Seungyoun's thoughts, too.

"Don't let go!" Hangyul quickly pleaded in a small, broken voice, like he was about to begin sobbing any minute now, tightening his arms around Seungyoun. "Please..."

"Hangyul--"

"Please, please, no..."

Seungyoun let his hands hold the younger's waist and made to push him away but the younger was faster, silencing his words and his thoughts by pressing his lips against Seungyoun's in a hard, close-lipped kiss that caused the alpha's brain to short-circuit all while their wolves purred in delight.

His best friend—an omega in heat—was kissing him.  _What the actual fuck?_

Hangyul drew apart and made a small, whining sound at the back of his throat, disappointed at the lack of response, so he climbed higher on Seungyoun's lap and held Seungyoun's face in his hands again, whispering, "Alpha needs me. I need alpha... It's okay, right?"

Seungyoun looked up at his friend's eyes, his pupils blown into large, dark pools of lust and need. He willed the rational part of his brain to muster the strength to push his best friend away. He couldn't do this. They shouldn't. But Hangyul's pheromones were rewiring his brain so that his body listened to his wolf more than it did his person.

Hangyul's nearness—his warmth, his scent, his pheromones—were disarming and it made Seungyoun want to cry harder. His wolf also told him that it was okay, that Hangyul was right—they needed each other and for all that it's worth, he did try. He did try to be the more reasonable one here, for fuck's sake, but he just couldn't do it any longer.

So he raised his hands to unwind the omega's arms from around his neck and breathed out an, _"Okay, omega..."_

The consent made Hangyul's eyes first flit in confusion and then finally, comprehension. So the younger attempted to push himself off of Seungyoun's lap hurriedly to stand over him, but his knees gave out and he would've fallen into a crumpled heap on the floor if Seungyoun hadn't caught him mid-fall. 

"Let's head to the bed, Hangyul-ah," Seungyoun whispered once they were both on their feet, facing each other. He bent down to hold Hangyul's thighs to signal the other to wrap them around his waist, which the omega complied to with no questions asked, no second-guessing.

"Hyung..." Hangyul sobbed, arms and legs around Seungyoun.

"Sssshhh, I know..." Seungyoun shushed him soothingly, and walked them to the bed.

*

_"Hello, Hangyul?"_ Seungwoo's voice came through the receiver.

Hangyul didn't think the older would answer before the third ring when he dialed his number the morning after, but he was mistaken. "Oh, Seungwoo hyung! Good morning!" he tried to sound as chirpy and as normal as possible, but with his best friend still sleeping, naked on the bed across where Hangyul was standing in the middle of the room, he didn't think he succeeded. 

Memories of last night were still weighing him down; a burden almost too heavy to bear in his frail heart.

Seungwoo didn't reply immediately, almost as if he was carefully choosing his next words, and Hangyul figured that the older was probably debating whether or not to mention last night.

Hangyul could remember everything vividly, and he was glad he did. He also appreciated Seungwoo's sensitivity to be careful about opening it up since presenting in public was not a topic that was easily breached. It was as sensitive as it was personal. Or at least, supposedly.

So as Seungyoun tossed in his sleep, blindly patting & reaching for something (or someone?) on the opposite side of the bed and finding nothing but a pillow which he promptly hugged to his chest, Hangyul decided to be the one to bring it up (while trying to ignore how his heart tripped in fondness at the slightest possibility that it was his body & his warmth that Seungyoun was seeking in his sleep. And he failed.)

So he took it upon himself to continue, "I know I promised to give you an answer once I've presented and I--"

_"Hangyul, please take your time. You just presented last night. Please. I can wait,"_ the older interrupted over the line, sounding all too genuine, gracious, and patient that Hangyul couldn't help but admire the man. He almost wished he had his heart set on Seungwoo. Oh, how uncomplicated things would be, if that was the case. But we don't always get what we hope for in this world, and Hangyul had been learning that ever since he'd developed feelings for his best friend.

"I know that, Seungwoo hyung," Hangyul sighed, heartbeat picking up its pace as he walked to sit on the side of the bed that Seungyoun was facing towards. "But a lot has happened overnight and I just thought that I would shorten your agony of waiting. If you would let me..." he said, tuning the volume of his voice down so as not to wake up the sleeping alpha whose hair was messy, eyebrows resting prettily against his cheekbones, lips semi-parted in a small pout that puffed out air in time with his breathing.

Hangyul thought that even in his sleep, his Seungyoun hyung was so beautiful. So, so beautiful, it was painful.

So while he waited for Seungwoo to respond, he gave in to the urge to reach out and brush Seungyoun's bangs off of his forehead, his intent on laying a soft kiss there strong, but then his best friend's eyes started to flutter open and he could only flinch away in embarrassment and panic.

_"Okay, Hangyul,"_ It was Seungwoo's turn to sigh, pulling the omega's thought back into the call. It was all too easy to be distracted by Seungyoun's masculine beauty and his alpha scent that reminded Hangyul of rainforests & springtimes.

_"But I was hoping we can do this in person if that's okay with you,"_ Seungwoo continued, _"And, of course, only if you're sure that you're physically, mentally, and emotionally ready,"_ he suggested, alluding to Hangyul being in heat just last night.

The omega felt heat creep up his face, spreading down to his chest and up to the tips of his ears, blushing at Seungwoo's kindness and at Seungyoun catching him at the same time, but he willed himself to stay where he was, still holding the phone to his ear.

He watched Seungyoun slowly awaken fully and sit up on the bed, sheets falling and pooling to his waist, revealing his tattoo-littered torso and arms. 

The older was awkwardly avoiding Hangyul's eyes while the omega remembered to respond to Seungwoo,  "I want that, too, Seungwoo hyung, but I'd rather we do it the soonest."

At the mention of Seungwoo's name, Seungyoun whipped his head around to look at his best friend in confusion, then comprehension, then was that jealousy? And then finally, resignation.

And Hangyul was quick to pick up on the fact that Seungyoun had probably misunderstood something here. So he signalled for his best friend to wait for the call to end but Seungyoun ignored him in favor of rolling to the other side of the bed to pick up and wear his clothes, _obviously_ intent on walking out after he'd so _obviously_ misinterpreted the only bit of Hangyul's conversation with Seungwoo that he'd heard.

A long pause from the other end of the line was the first response that Seungwoo gave him until, with a pain-laced tone, the student council president spoke again.  _"I see you can't wait to break my heart, Hangyul-ah."_

Hangyul hung his head in shame at hearing this, while he frantically rose to his feet to make sure that his best friend was going nowhere, never minding that he was naked from the waist up and that the air condition blasting chilly air onto the room had goosebumps blossoming on his arms. But then again, it could be his naked state and the effect that Seungyoun (and Seungyoun's foul mood) has on his omega wolf.

Seungyoun was already fully-clothed, and was clearly headed for the door to make his exit but Hangyul, despite his own limbs being sore, got to the door first, pressing his back against it and blocking his best friend's only escape route. "I'm sorry, Seungwoo hyung..." he offered the older through the receiver as he slowly grew conscious of the pheromones that Seungyoun had begun emitting. It told Hangyul that Seungyoun was less than pleased about the situation so the omega decided to jump the gun, and spoke his next words with eyes pleading his best friend to stay, and hear him out. "It's just that a lot happened last night and although it may be hard to believe since I was in heat and all, last night really gave me clarity on a lot of things..."

The alpha who was standing barefooted before Hangyul shifted his weight from one foot to the other, in apparent awkwardness and impatience, but Hangyul was adamant about sweeping it all under the rug. Something has fundamentally changed between him and his best friend last night and Hangyul will be damned if he let this opportunity to talk about how to move forward from it, slip through his fingers.

It became a struggle to hold the phone to his ear as his palms began to grow sweaty, his nerves getting the best of him. At the peripheral of his mind, Hangyul also gathered that he might have began releasing his scent & pheromones, too, but its effect on Seungyoun was not his priority at the moment.

He swallowed a ball of saliva and, deciding it was now or never, began to speak. "I'm sorry that you had to hear this, Seungwoo hyung. But there is an alpha I've been into for ages now. Hell, I think I've been in love with him for a long time now and last night, he made me believe that I had, at least, a chance. But then again, it could just be coincidences and well, biology, but I thought that maybe since I'm already close enough to try, I might as well go ahead and do it. And I don't want you waiting for me just to be a liability in the end, when he decides—no, _if_ he decides he wanted me back. But seriously, Seungwoo hyung, I think my chances are slim."

Hangyul watched a bajillion expressions flit across Seungyoun's face before the older finally blanched after connecting the dots. It got Hangyul's stomach sinking in worry and nerves.

_"As slim as my chances with you?"_ Seungwoo managed to joke light-heartedly as if he hadn't just been turned down over the phone, and while unaware of the semi-confrontation happening at Hangyul's end of the call.

The omega now averted from Seungyoun. He thought he wouldn't be able to take seeing rejection or disgust or remorse painted all over Seungyoun's face, because then that would only mean that even though Seungyoun got him through his heat last night, Hangyul was still in the friendzone.

But then again, hadn't he already decided that his best friend was worth the risk? Cho Seungyoun was worth the risk. He was so worth it.

"I'm sorry, Seungwoo hyung," Hangyul said, heart aching on behalf of the oldest whose confession he'd just turned down when finally, he allowed his wary gaze meet Seungyoun's astonished one and it was so electric.

It was so charged with... so many things that Hangyul had missed Seungwoo's last few words before he'd heard the busy tone over some static on the other line. So Hangyul let his hand which was holding his phone fall limply to his side since the call has clearly ended, and since the adrenaline rush from spilling his heart out to two people at a time was beginning to subside.

Seungyoun, on the other hand, did not dare move a muscle. His wolf was seated and not at all moved by all the revelation as if he'd subconsciously seen it coming, and was actually pleased that it was out in the open now.

He would be lying if he said that never in a million years had he expected this but just like, Hangyul, (as he now knew), he thought his chances were slim.

"What am I supposed to do now, Seungyoun hyung?" Hangyul began with a pleading tone in his voice that sounded so small & so insecure, Seungyoun wanted to cry and just take the younger in his embrace. 

He couldn't believe it had to take Hangyul presenting as an omega, and Seungyoun helping him through his heat for the puzzle pieces to fit and for things to fall into their rightful places.

If Hangyul hadn't clearly emphasized that his attraction and his feelings for the older had come long before he presented, then Seungyoun could easily dismiss his feelings as just but a result of them being an alpha and omega, but no. It seemed like they've both been fools; too absorbed with trying to make sense of why they fell in love with their best friend and trying to figure out what to do about it, that they hadn't seen that whatever feelings they had, were actually mutual.

Hangyul was still awaiting the older's reply and seriously, Seungyoun thought that they'd wasted too much time playing this emotional guessing-game to complicate things further. 

"First," Seungyoun said as he stepped closer towards the omega whose sweet scent had been calling out to him like a tall glass of water in the middle of the desert ever since he'd woken up. "Let me do this," he whispered before he'd taken the younger's face in his hands, and lowering his head so that he could place the softest, slowest, most innocent of kisses on the omega's lips.

With Hangyul's omega heat over, and with his feelings out in the open, the kiss was all that both of them could ever ask for. It wasn't forced, neither was it charged by pheromones, nor influenced by their wolves. No, right now, it was just Cho Seungyoun and Lee Hangyul, kissing as if the other was made of glass; kissing as if they'd been waiting for it their whole life.

Maybe they were. Or pretty close to that.

Hangyul breathily sighed onto the kiss during an interval when Seungyoun drew apart to catch his breath and draw the omega closer with arms around Hangyul's waist, and the older's wolf perked up in interest at the sound of it.

The omega had one hand threaded through Seungyoun's messy bed hair, with the other pulling the alpha down with a hand to the nape. And everything seemed perfect. It felt like everything was going to be alright. And they probably weren't wrong. So slowly, Seungyoun let his lips split into a smile while still in the kiss, giggling against the younger's lips which were shyly chasing his own.

And Hangyul couldn't help but mirror the smile, until their teeths clinked together and the alpha pulled away, throwing his head back in laughter. "I've been wanting to do that since forever, too, just in case you're wondering what I'm so happy about," he confessed before he stole another peck at the omega's smiling lips.

"We'd both been real dense & stupid for so long, haven't we, Seungyoun hyung?" Hangyul mused, as he hooked his arms from under Seungyoun's arms so that he was holding onto the older's shoulder blades, with his ear now pressed against the older's chest.

"Mhmm," Seungyoun agreed, "And I guess I owe you a grand declaration of love like the one you did on the phone to Seungwoo but I'd rather do other things first..."

Hangyul was delighted at the rumbling sensation that vibrated through his best friend's chest, but was more pleased at what Seungyoun was implying. "Oh, and what might those be?" he asked, playing along even as the alpha wordlessly urged the younger to once again wrap his arms and legs around his neck and waist, just like last night, to which Hangyul immediately complied again.

He was answered by Seungyoun biting on his shoulder playfully, "Any guesses, _my little omega_?"

Hangyul squeaked, more ticklish than hurt by the playful bite he received. "Why don't you just show me,  _alpha_ ..." he rasped as he planted kisses all over the older's face—his forehead, his cheeks, his nose, his chin, and of course, his lips.

"Aye aye, captain," Seungyoun chuckled, puckering his face up to receive the small pecks from his best friend, before he laid both of them down on the bed for a morning of lovemaking that was, this time, rid of any unclear motives and pheromone-charged lust.

Now, it was just the two of them, claiming their best friends as their wolf mates, and honestly, they couldn't bring themselves to care about anything else in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> not sure when we're supposed to reveal ourselves as authors of our fics for this seungyul ficfest but you can try guessing ig
> 
> ALL FOR SEUNGYUL/CHOGYUL NATION


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